Opinion

All Brown’s children

Sixty years ago today, the United States Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the principle of separate but equal.

In Brown v. Board of Education, the justices delivered a hammer blow to institutionalized, state-sanctioned segregation. In so doing, it struck at the heart of the Jim Crow regime that permeated much of the American South.

In their decision, the justices explained why equal opportunity was particularly important in education. “In these days,” they said, “it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education.”

That remains as true today as it was then. But notwithstanding some real and hard-bought victories for civil rights, another fact remains sadly true: Failing public schools condemn many black children to life on the fringes of the American Dream.

Sixty years ago, it was easier to assume that state-sanctioned bigotry was the reason black children were getting a second-rate public education. It’s much harder to make that claim today.

But whatever the reasons for the achievement gap — a dysfunctional education bureaucracy, bad teachers protected by teachers unions, the parlous state of the black family — our national scandal is that our public school system manifestly is not working for African-American children.

Instead of dwelling on the reasons for failure, we prefer to look at the examples of success. Charter schools and Catholic schools each demonstrate — to the embarrassment of traditional public schools — that African-American children can learn.

We believe it no coincidence that just one year after the high court handed down its decision in Brown, economist Milton Friedman proposed a plan to give parents more choice through vouchers.

Today, the 50,000-long waiting list to get into New York City charters is just one reminder that African-American moms and dads fighting for a real education for their kids are eager for that choice.

By all means, let’s celebrate Brown. But let’s also give parents the choice that will help us make good on its promise.